Gimme five

the opportunity to learn about the culture, history and life of the Maasai tribe.

I joined a camp excursion to visit the neighbouring Maasai village where tourists are welcomed by the entire community – chief included – who perform traditional songs and dances.

They talk about their day-to-day lives before opening their homes, which are built by women.

If you don’t have the time to go out as far as the Maasai Mara, the Nairobi National Park is around four miles from the capital, so within 20 minutes of touching down at the airport you can be on your first game drive.

With a backdrop of city skyscrapers, its wide open grass plains are home to lions, rhinos, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, buffalos, giraffes and diverse birdlife.

They’re all quite happy where they are and don’t go roaming into the city on a Friday night.

The Nairobi Tented Camp is the only camp within the park and is another true wilderness experience. I stayed in one of the nine safari-style tents, complete with shower and loo. Water is heated over a log fire.

The camp offers game drives and excursions to the Elephant Orphanage and the Giraffe Centre, as well as the Karen Blixen Museum, the farmhouse once owned by the Danish author who wrote the memoir Out Of Africa.

After three days and nights of action-packed safari, it was time for a change of pace.

The east coast of Kenya shares the same warm, clear waters as the Seychelles, Mauritius and the Maldives – and its beaches are just as fabulous.

Often voted the country’s most beautiful, Diani Beach has white sand, palm trees and beaming blue sea, and it’s just a short plane ride away from the Maasai.

I stayed at The Sands at Nomad, an awardwinning boutique resort set within 26 acres of coastal forest.

There are 30 luxurious rooms and seven beach cottages, all unique in design with traditional Swahili carved furniture, air con and private bars. Some even have their own Jacuzzis.

There’s also a spa, a la carte dining, a Thai restaurant and pool bar, perfect for relaxing with a Kenyan Tusker beer. The hotel makes the most of its beach location by offering PADI diving courses, windsurfing, kayaking and deep sea fishing.

The town itself is bustling with nightlife options, with easy-going bars and restaurants. One night I ended up at a disco at a Diani Beach backpackers hostel and

Cold beers taste so much better when a wild giraffe ambles past

shared a dance floor with a couple of Maasai warriors.

I also took a day trip to Wasini Island just down the coast from Diani. This idyllic, car-free island with just 3,000 residents has pockets of white sands and the beautiful waters of the Kisite Mpunguti Marine National Park are ideal for snorkelling – I even spotted the odd dolphin.

Combining the very best of Kenya – a wild adventure in the bush and time chilling at the beach – is the perfect pairing for that dream trip you’ve always wanted to

make.